Bottles Japan — effective 25 September 2026. This policy forms part of our Terms of Sale and constitutes our return terms (返品特約) under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions of Japan. Distance sales in Japan are not subject to a statutory cooling-off period.
1. Cancelling an order
- You may cancel an order free of charge at any time before it is dispatched. Email info@bottlesjapan.com or info@emh.wine with your order number. Orders are normally dispatched within 3–5 business days.
- Once an order has been handed to the carrier it cannot be cancelled. Please see sections 3–6 for what happens after dispatch.
- If you decline a parcel or fail to collect it and it is returned to us, section 6 applies.
2. No returns for change of mind
Wine is a perishable, condition-sensitive and legally regulated product. Once dispatched, bottles that have left our temperature-controlled storage cannot be resold, and alcohol cannot lawfully be returned across most borders. We therefore do not accept returns or exchanges for change of mind, taste preference, or ordering error. Please check vintage, bottle size, quantity and shipping address carefully before you confirm your order.
3. Incorrect or missing items
If you receive the wrong wine, the wrong vintage or fewer bottles than ordered, email info@bottlesjapan.com or info@emh.wine within 48 hours of delivery with your order number and photographs. We will send the correct item, or refund the item and its share of shipping, at our cost. We may ask for the incorrect item to be returned at our expense.
3A. Breakage or damage in transit
Every bottle is packed in a moulded wine shipper inside a corrugated carton, and every parcel is tracked.
- Deliveries within Japan (Yamato Cool): report any damage to us within 48 hours of delivery with photographs of the box, the packaging and the bottle(s), and keep all packaging. We handle the claim with Yamato and will replace the wine or refund the item and its shipping.
- International deliveries: risk of loss or damage passes to you when we hand the parcel to the carrier. If a parcel arrives damaged, (1) have the delivering carrier or post office record the damage at delivery and keep the parcel and all packaging, and (2) email us within 48 hours with your order number and photographs of the outer box (all sides, including labels), the inner packaging and the bottle(s). Carrier claims must be lodged by the sender, so we will file the claim with the carrier for you, provide the shipping documents and pass on to you in full any compensation the carrier pays. Beyond that compensation we are not liable for transit damage. Claims made after 48 hours, without photographs, or where the packaging has been discarded will be refused by the carrier and therefore cannot be accepted by us.
- Transit insurance at your cost can be added to any international shipment on request before dispatch; ask us for a quote.
4. Condition of wine — what is and is not a defect
We sell fine, rare and mature wines, many of them decades old, and natural wines made without additives. The following are inherent characteristics, not defects, and do not entitle you to a refund or exchange:
- Fill level (ullage) consistent with the age of the wine; label scuffing, staining, nicks or fading; capsule condition, wax seal cracks, or minor seepage marks on older bottles.
- Sediment, deposits, tartrate crystals, haze or cloudiness; slight spritz or petillance and reductive or "funky" aromas in natural wines; variation between bottles of the same wine.
- Cork condition on mature wines.
Photographs and descriptions. Product photographs show a representative bottle of that wine and vintage, not necessarily the exact bottle you will receive; wines are sold on the basis of the written description in the listing. Where an individual bottle has a notable condition issue (low fill, damaged label, torn capsule, seepage) we state it in the listing and price it accordingly. For mature, rare and high-value wines, and on request for any wine, we will send photographs and video of the actual bottle(s) before you pay — email us before placing the order, or before paying a bank-transfer or Wise invoice. Once you confirm and pay, the bottle shown is the bottle you have bought, and its condition as shown is accepted. A bottle whose condition matches the listing description, or the photographs and video you approved, is not defective. If you receive a bottle whose condition is materially worse than described and was not disclosed, report it within 48 hours under section 3.
Corked (TCA) or otherwise faulty bottles. Faults such as cork taint or premature oxidation cannot be detected before opening and cannot be verified by us after the fact. We handle these in good faith, case by case:
- Notify us within 7 days of delivery, keep the bottle with at least two-thirds of its contents, the cork and the capsule, and send photographs. We may ask for the bottle to be returned.
- Where we are satisfied a fault exists, we will offer a replacement bottle if available or a store credit / refund of the item price.
- No claim is accepted for wines 10 or more years from their vintage date, or for bottles that have been decanted, transferred, or stored by you outside proper cellar conditions. The risk of a fault in an old bottle is inherent in buying mature wine and is priced accordingly.
5. Parcels lost in transit
All shipments are tracked. If the carrier confirms a parcel is lost, we will replace the wine if stock allows or refund your order in full. If tracking shows the parcel as delivered to the address you provided, we regard delivery as complete; we will help you raise an enquiry with the carrier, but we cannot refund a parcel recorded as delivered.
6. Customs, import refusal and undeliverable parcels
You are responsible for ensuring that alcohol may lawfully be imported to your delivery address by you, and for paying any duties, taxes and customs fees on arrival (see Shipping Policy).
- If a parcel is seized, destroyed or disposed of by customs, postal or regulatory authorities at the destination — including because the destination does not permit alcohol by post, because you are not permitted to receive it, or because duties were not paid — no refund is due.
- If a parcel is returned to us because it was refused, unclaimed, undeliverable, or import was declined, all costs of the return are yours: the outbound shipping, the return shipping, and any Japanese import duties, taxes and carrier fees charged when the wine re-enters Japan. We will invoice you for these costs. Once they are paid we can re-dispatch the wine, for which the new shipping charge is payable in advance. If you prefer a refund and the wine arrives back in saleable condition, we refund the item price less all of the above costs. Wine returned in unsaleable condition is not refunded.
- Where we told you in writing before dispatch that a destination or method was not recommended and you asked us to proceed, you accept the full risk of that shipment.
7. Refunds
- Approved refunds are made to the original payment method within 10 business days of approval. Your bank or card issuer may take additional time to post it; we cannot refund differences arising from exchange-rate movements or bank charges.
- Shipping charges are refunded only where the fault is ours (section 3) or the parcel is confirmed lost (section 5).
- Store credit, where offered, is valid for 12 months.
- Please contact us before opening a chargeback. We resolve genuine problems promptly; disputes opened without prior contact will be answered with the tracking, signature and communication records for the order.
8. Pickup, storage and hold orders
Wines held in our Tokyo storage at your request are covered by our Storage & Pickup Terms. Ownership passes to you on payment; storage is at your risk after the free period, and orders left uncollected for 12 months after notice may be treated as abandoned.
9. Your statutory rights
Nothing in this policy limits liability that cannot be limited under the laws of Japan, including liability for our intentional misconduct or gross negligence, or the rights of consumers under the Consumer Contract Act of Japan. This policy is governed by the laws of Japan.
Contact: info@bottlesjapan.com / info@emh.wine · WhatsApp +81 70-7535-2929 · Tel +81 3-6416-3023 · Bottles Japan / Ebisu Maruco Co., Ltd., Tokyo